Terminology
Counting to Ten in Japanese(Please know before first practice): Ichi, Ni, San, Shi, Go, Roku, Shichi, Hachi, Kyu, Jyu
Commands
Hajime: Begin
Yame: Stop
Kamae(command): Assume Chudan no Kamae
Sonkyo: Assume the sonkyo(squatting) position
Rei: Standing or sitting bow
Definitions
Kamae: "Stance"
Chudan no Kamae: Basic stance holding the shinai directly out in front of your body with the ken-sen pointing at the opponent's throat.
Issoku Ito no Ma-ai: Distance in which you can cut an opponent by taking one step forward.
Suriashi: Basic Kendo footwork - the "shuffling" of feet so as to move quickly across short distances without lifting either foot off of the floor.
Fumikomi: The "stamping" of the right foot at the moment of attack so as to achieve Ki-Ken-Tai-Ichi.
Ki-Ken-Tai-Ichi: Literally the coming together of Spirit, Sword, and Body.
Tai-atari: A "body crash" or collision following an attempted strike, utilizing force from the hips to disrupt the balance of the opponent.
Suburi: Exercise to refine one's Kendo swing. Usually used as a warm-up exercise. There are various forms of suburi.
Keiko: Practice
Uchikomi-geiko: Striking practice
Kakari-geiko: Endurance and spirit building exercise in which the Kenshi repeatedly strikes at various openings with the attitude of "going all out."
Ji-geiko: Free practice
Equipment
Shinai
1. Sakigawa - Rubber tip of shinai. Be sure to replace when worn or if holes develop...weak sakigawa can be extremely dangerous.
2. Nakayui - Strip of leather indicating the length between it and the sakigawa as the portion of the shinai that should come into contact with a target upon striking.
3. Tsuru - String that secures and holds the shinai together. The string should be tight but not so much as to bend the shinai.
4. Tsuba - The gaurd of the shinai.
5. Tsubadome - Tsuba stopper - usually a piece of leather to keep the tsuba from sliding down the tsukagawa.
6. Tsukagawa - Rubber handle to cover the Tsuka.
Tsuka - Handle.
Bogu
1. Men - Face and head protector. The most important target as all other strikes are derived from men-uchi.
2. Kote - Gauntlet, or forearm protector. Normally only the right kote is a target. The left becomes a target if the opponent employs Jodan no Kamae.
3. Do - "Breastplate(for lack of a better word)" - protects the abdomen. Normally only the right side of the Do is the target - at higher levels the left side, gyaku-do, becomes an option.
4. Tare - Protects the waist and hips from stray Do strikes, as well as displays your name and dojo/federation/country. The tare is not a target.
5. Tsuki - Throat protector. Kenshi under Shodan(1-dan) should not attempt a thrust to the Tsuki without approval of their sensei.